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| Photo Credit: AP. |
Federal Prosecutors have dropped charges against nine people associated with CBS “Late Show with Stephen Colbert” who were arrested in a building in the U.S. Capitol complex last month, The Associated Press reports.
Prosecutors
determined they “cannot move forward” with the misdemeanor charges against the
nine people arrested on June 16 in the Longworth House Office building,
prompting a decision by the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington to that
effect, according to The Associated Press.
A spokesman
for the U.S. attorney’s office said it was not possible to obtain or sustain a
conviction for the nine arrested persons since they were invited and that their
escorts had never asked them to leave the building, according to The Associated
Press.
Some of the persons
arrested included comedian and writer Robert Smigel, creator, executive producer and voice of Triumph the
Insult Comic Dog and several producers, according to The Associated Press.
Prosecutors
said the group was invited by congressional staffers and were not asked to
leave by the staff members who had invited them.
“The Office
would be required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that these invited guests
were guilty of the crime of unlawful entry because their escort chose to leave
them unattended,” said Bill Miller, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office.
“We do not believe it is probable that the Office would be able to obtain and
sustain convictions on these charges.”
The
production team for Colbert show was arrested in June and charged with unlawful
entry at Capitol. The Hill said CBS News confirmed to it that Capitol Police
detained a production team from “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
The Hill
also reported that Capitol Police said in a statement that seven people were
charged with unlawful entry after responding to a call received at around 8:30
p.m. of a disturbance in the Longworth House building.
“Responding
officers observed seven individuals, unescorted and without Congressional ID,
in a sixth-floor hallway. The building was closed to visitors, and these individuals
were determined to be a part of a group that had been directed by the USCP to
leave the building earlier in the day,” Capitol Police said while not
disclosing the identities of those charged, The Hill reported.